Hydrogen One: The World’s First Virtual Reality Smartphone

Globally renowned, high-end camera maker Red announced on Thursday the arrival of the “world’s first holographic media machine,” the Hydrogen One smartphone.

RED Weapon 8K Helium | RED

Red is a prominent name in the world of digital cinema. The company has been making cinema-grade cameras used to shoot films and some Hollywood blockbusters for years now.

Red’s camera line includes a $49,000, full 8K resolution camera that can shoot 35.4 Megapixel motion and stills at up to 75 frames per second. The camera’s HELIUM sensors enable the camera to provide the most advanced VFX solution and next-level creative flexibility.

With Red’s elite status in the world of digital cinematography, experts were surprised by its latest innovation that is far beyond the limits of camera creation.

On July 6, Red announced the arrival of its latest flagship, the Hydrogen One. As opposed to the usual inventions of the company, Hydrogen One is not a camera–it is a smartphone!

Hydrogen One is not your ordinary smartphone. Dubbed by the company as “the world’s first holographic media machine,” the smartphone will be equipped with fantastic features that will “shatter the mold of conventional thinking.”

Hydrogen One Features: Nanotechnology, AR, and VR

Hydrogen One’s headlining feature is what the company referred to as “holographic display.” Red touts that the phone will display 3D “holographic” content without using 3D glasses.

In a statement to Forbes, the billionaire innovator behind Red and Oakley, Jim Jannard said:

“I never believed that AR and VR would be successful as long as you needed a pair of glasses or a headset to view content. No one wants to drag around another piece of gear that has to be charged every day. Hydrogen opens the door to AR and VR with the one product that you carry with you all the time. We just added holography and stereo 3D for good measure.”

The phone will operate on Android OS and will have a 5.7″ professional hydrogen holographic display. Hydrogen One features nanotechnology for “seamlessly switching between traditional 2D content, holographic multi-view content, 3D content, and interactive games.”

Hydrogen One RED Patent | RED

Embedded in the OS of Hydrogen One is a proprietary H3O algorithm that will convert stereo sound into expansive multi-dimensional audio.

Aside from its enhanced audio feature, the Hydrogen One smartphone will also feature a modular camera unit that can be switched to different camera modules for shooting higher quality motion and still images.

Hydrogen One can also be integrated with other professional Red camera programs. Apparently, the smartphone can be used as a user interface and monitor for some of Red’s high-end cameras like Scarlet, EPIC, and Weapon.

Red reiterated that Hydrogen One would not rely on additional hardware to support its augmented reality and virtual reality features. An innovation that places Red one step ahead of other tech giants like Sony, Samsung, Google, and Facebook who have all invested in VR headsets in recent years.

Hydrogen One will be available in aluminum and titanium models which will cost $1,195 and $1,595 respectively. However, Red emphasized that these prices are not guaranteed at the time of release. Jannard also said that after the initial release, Red would not be able to fill all orders on time due to display production limitations.

The first orders of Hydrogen One will come from Jannards “first production batch” and will be shipped in the first quarter of 2018.

Is Hydrogen One smartphone just another high-end gadget or the key to the future of smartphone and VR technology?